Cutting die and process of making the same



ug. 19', l 924.

1,505,774 W.l H. J. FITZGERALD CUTTING DIE AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME Filed April s, 1923 Patented Aug. 19, 1924.

l UNITED, STATES;

WILLIAM n. J. FITZGERALD, or BRAINTREE, MASSACHUSETTS;

CUTTING nin AND rnocnssor MAKING THB rsAilrn.I .l

Application filled April 3,

To all whom t may concern."

Be it known that I, VILLTAM H. J. FITZ- GERALD, a citizen ofthe United States, and a resident of Braintree, county of Norfolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented 7an Improvement in Cutting Dies and Processes of Making the Same, of Which the following description, in connectionpwith the accompanying drawing,"is a specifica! tion, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to improvements[in cutting dies and processes for producing the saine.

More particularly the invention relates to cutting diesy such as are used for cutting leather and other materials into'predetermined -forms as for the soles and uppers of shoes, etc.

In the manufacture of slices and like ar- Iy ticles Where different styles and` sizes rare made, a. large number of different dies are required. Such cutting dies have heretofore been produced by forgingstrips of steel to'correspond to the form of atemplet or pattern and Welding the ends of the'k strip together. This requires highly.skilledlabor and the production of suchy dies is very slow and expensive.

The object of the present invention is to provide a novel cutting die which may be formed of sheet metal of sutlicient thinness to enable it to be bent to the desired forni, but which is provided with a longitudinally extending strengthening rib Whichwill givel when bent to the desired form, the sheet or,

strip being provided with a preferably cen-.fr

tral longitudinally extending strengthening rib adapted to give to the sheet such rigid ity as is required when the die is usedin the usual cutting machine.k

A further object of the invention is' to provide a die of the character specified in z which the rib is recessed or notched in` such a manner that it may be readily bent to the 1923. serial No.seekers.,r y I' required form andy ,Which"Willnotfinipose a lateral ortorsional strain `up'onthe .body

of thedie by reasonof the stretchingorg condensation'ofthe metal alongthe curved or angularly bent portions of the die.` *e A further objectof ythe yinvention "isto `provide a novel'means for securing the ends of a cutting die ofthe character above de-y scribed. A` j, y n ,y

A furtherjobject'ofthe invention is to provide, a cuttingy diew body,` .of `the character above describedwvith a flexible cuttingblade having its edge projectingbeyond theedge l of the rbodyyand,'itsfopposite y'edge lpreferably resting uponthefshoulder `formed by the longitudinally extending rib of the body.` f

A further object fof the inventionis 4.to

provide novel meansy forsecuring `such a flexible cuttingrblade to the body yof `the die, softhatthe Whole orvafpart may bereplaced.

. Ak further object of the invention is to I* provide ya novel process of formingl a cutting die of the character above described.` Other objects and 'features' .of ,the` invention ,will more fully appear from the'fol-y lowing description and the accompanying 1 drawing and will ber particularlyf pointed AoutI in the claims,

A die illustrative ofa prefcrredembodij-' nient of the invention `is shown ,in the laccompanying drawing, in which, y

Fig; l4 is a plan View of afdie for cutting uppers of `shoes having av flexible'cutting blade, viewed toward the edge of the blade;`

n Fig. 2 is a side elevation ofthedie illustrated in Fig, l, viewed from lthe top, showing diagrainn'iaticallyy in dotted f lines rthe beam ofthe cutting rmachineflocated at a distance `above the die;y f

Fig. 3 is ay detail view in perspective .of a curved portionof the body formed of sheet metal, bent centrally yupon itself to form ya longitudinally extending rib and having thereto; y y ,l

Fig. 4 is a Vvertical transverse section of the die body and blade illustratedin Fig, 3,'.showingalso ay preferred clamping device for securingtheblade to the` body;

5 isa plan View of a. die of different patterinembodying theinvention, in .which a flexible `cutting bladeapplied the body is formed from ai rolled strip havdinally extending, preferably centrally disy Vf-shaped notches 3 located at suitable in-A tervals along the curvedl portions of the die posed, rib 2, the rib being provided with suitable recesses preferably in the form of and similar notches 4 located at the angularly bent portionsv of the die. These V-shaped notches preferably extend through the rib with their apexes lying in the plane of thewallof the body.

In the construction of the die illustrated herein a stra-ight strip Aof sheet metal having a longitudinally` extending preferably central rib is measuredl off to the Vlength required to extend around,the'periphery of the desired pattern. The slits or preferably V-shaped notches 3 vare then formed in the rib 2 along the portions ofthe strip which are to conform` tovcurved or. angular portions of the pattern. The strip vis then bentk by the workman with a suitable tool to rcon-v form to the contour of the pattern, the V- shaped notchesy-in the rib permitting such flexure of the sheet as is necessary to cause it to follow the contour of the pattern. The metal vof the sheet should be "of sufcient liexibility to enable vit to be bent readily, preferably at ordinary temperatures, and-of a quality which will have a'permanent set when bent to the desired form.

-By reason of the preferred V-shaped notches in the rib the body may be caused to conform either to an out-curve 5 in which 'case the outerV edges of the notches will separate as the sheet is bent, or to an in-curve 6 in `which case the outer edges of the notches will approach more closely together when the'sheetis bent. Where the sheet is bent at substantially right angles the edges of the notches separate more widely as indicated at 4 in Fig. 1. When the sheet has been bent aroundthe pattern the ends 7 and 8 are caused to abut and mav be lsecured in abutting position by any suitable anchoring means. n

4@ne of the lpreferred means for securing the abutting ends ofthe body together consists in providing a block 9,preferably of greater thickness than the height of the rib 2,' 'and provided with a longitudinally ex?- tending recess to embrace and preferably to tit upon therib.` The basal portion 10 of y the block preferably lies flush with the base edge 11 ofthe body and the block desirably may be of sufficient length to provide any abutment to receive the blow from the die- F actuatinginstrumentality.

The block `9 desirably is secured to the body between the rib and the basal'edge 11 by rivets 12 or other suitable fastening means. Desirably one or more members 18 are connected'to the body at opposite portions of the die to prevent spreading, collapsing,"or other distortion of the die when in use. f Y

Vhile the body ofthe die thus formed may be provided withk a cutting edge conforming toA the.' pattern it isr preferable to provide a removable and renewable cutting blade of relatively thin tempered steel. As illustrated in Fig. 1 acutting blade 14 of thin flexible metal is bent around the bodyof the die to conform to thev profiled surface of the body which corresponds to the pattern of the article to be cut. The edge 15 ofthisflexible blade projects at a distance beyond theedge 16 of the body, The opposite edge 17 of the cutting blade desirably rests upon or abuts against thev shoulder formeel by the rib 2 so that the cutting` blade is rigidly backed up and prevented from yielding 'edgewise during the use of the die.v

Suitable means are providedfor securing the cutting blade to the body of the die.

.other fasteners 19 securing them to the 4body of the die. The blocks desirablv aire also provided with screws 20 having threaded engagement with thewalls of apertures in the blocks and desirably are provided with angular recesses 21 toy receive a tool for set- .Av preferred construction which is illustrated ting up and withdrawing the screws. The

screws 20 are provided with flattened rends 22 adapted to engage the fiat surface of the blade 14.

Preferably the blade 14 is provided with miteredfends 23 and 24, the upper overlapping end 24 being sharpened along its edge to insure the cutting of any material which enters between the adjacent ends vof the blade as is more fully disclosed in my prior Patent Number 1,471,658 granted October Desirably the. angularly bent portions of the die are provided with re-enforcing blocks 25 having recesses to embrace and preferably to ht the rib 2 and which also may be provided with clamping screws .20. These blocks Amay be provided with V-shaped notches 26 extending to the base of the groove so that the i'e-enforciug blocks 25 may be bent properly to ht around the abrupt corners of the die. f These re-enforcing blocksand also other blocks 27, which may be termed hammer blocks. desirably are of considerable extent and have surfaces preferably flush with the basal edge of the body Ato -redie as will be readilyunderstoodbythose` metal folded longitudinally upon-itself 1to provide a rib as illustrated in Figs; 3' and et. In this construction the metalsheetQyof which the body is formed, is bent upon itself to produce the rib Ll. v Stripsfoffthis kind may and have beeny produced by'sheet metal Working machines and no claimais, therefore, made to the particular vform ,of

the strip apart from its usein connection with the manufactureof diesiof the character above described. l

In Figs. 5 andzG another of the usual forms of dies for shoeguppers is illustrated.

In this construction theI die is shown as b eing formed of a strip 28 of sheet metalhaving asubstantially central, longitudinally .f y

i toured Wall presenting` ak cuttingledgefproextending, rib 29 formed integral with the sheet 28 vpreferably by rolling. This rib 29, like that heretofore described, is provided with suitable notches 3 and 4 to permit the body to be bent into the desired ,form` and the ends ofthe body are connected by means j lmetalbent to cause one offits Wallsto 'con- Iform to the contour lof `the pattern tobe cut,

of a block 30 havingV a groovegtoreceive and preferablyfit the rib 29.` .In this construction the body is yprovidedwith a cutting edge 3l instead of having` afleXible cutter secured. to the body, but it will be understood that even inthis construction a suitable flexible cutter may be applied inthe manner heretofore described to conformy to the contour of the pattern. y It Will be understood that the embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are illustrative in character and that various forms of cutting dies may be produced in accordance with the process disclosed herein. Having thus described the invention, what is vclaimed as new, and desired to be secured byLetters Patent, is: l 1

l. A cutting die comprising a ,body of thin metal bent'to cause one of its :Walls to conform to thel contour of the pattern to be cut, having an integral rib extending longi-` tudinally Aof said body and recessed atthe bent. portions of said body to prevent lateral and torsional strains upon said body and means for securing lthe endsof said body together. .j

2. A cutting die comprising avbodyr of thin metal bent to cause one 'of its Wallsto conform to the contour of the pattern to `be cut, having an integral rib extendinglongi-y tudinally of said body and recessed at the bent portions of said body to prevent lateral and torsional strains upon said body,'means yfor securing the ends` of said body .f together and a tension member connecting oppositely disposed portions of saidzdiefactingto yprey ventexpansion of the. dieivhen kin use.y 1

3. ,A cutting diey comprisingy a body of thin metal ybent toA cause one offits Walls to conform to ythecontour of ythepatternl'to be cut, having an lintegral rib extending @longitudinally of said body and yrecessed'at thebent kportions of ksaid body'fto preventy lateral. andtorsional strains upon said-body,

rmeans for securing the ends of said body 'toge'ther and hammer tblocksffsecure'd to said body presenting surfaces toreceive thepblow` ofthe die-actuating instrumentality;Uk

fA cutting'd'e comprisinga bodyijof thin metal bent tocau'sev oneyof its'walls to conform to `the contour vofthe pattern to be cut-,having an! integral iribmeXtendingy.

longitudinallyfof said `body andprojecting substantially perpendic'ularlyr fromthe face' of thecontoured r wall and recessed aty the bent portionsLof saidbody to prevent lateral a thin flexible cutting bla-deifittinglsaid 4conjecting `beyond the 'edge `off said `YWall` and securingsaidfblade tofsaid body.: y f f y 5. -Acutting die comprisinga body of.y thin having an integral rib extending longitudi-` nally of said body and projectingsubstanytially perpendicularly.from the face ofthe ,contoured Wall and-recessed at thebentporltions of said bodyk to prevent llateral ortori sional strains upon said body/,means forse- Y, curmgthe endsof` the body togetlier, ya thin flexible cutting blade fitting-said contoured` 'Wall' prese-ntinga cuttingy edge projectingbey 'or torsional strains upon said' body,''means for securing' the endsof the `body together,1 y90 having its {opposite edge seated upo'n'a shoulder formed by saidrib and means :for

nally of said body and projecting substanfi tially `perpendicularly fromthe face yofthe contoured wall andrecessed at the Vbent portions of said body to prevent lateral or torsional` strains upon saidbody, meansfor se` curing the ends ofthe body together, a thin flexible cutting blade lit-tingl saidcontoured Wall `presenting` a 4cutting edge projecting beyondrtheedge of said Wall and,v having its opposite edge seated upon ya shoulder formed yby said rib, a plurality of blocks having yrecesses fittingsaid ribs, `means securing said blocks to said body and adjustable clamping h: f y 1,505,774

means carried by said blocks engaging said blade.y f y 7. A cutting die comprising a body of thin metal bent to cause one of its Walls to conform tothe contouroi` the pattern to be portions ofsaid "body to prevent lateral or torsional strains upon said body, means for ysecuring rthe ends of the body together, a

y thiniiexible cutting blade-fitting said contoured ,Wall presenting a cutting edge projecting beyond the edge of said Wall and having itsv opposite edge seated upon a shoulder formed by said rib, aA plurality of blocks havingv recesses fitting said ribs,

means securing said blocks to said body and `adjustableclamping means carried by ysaid blocks engaging said blade, certain of said blocks present-ing extended surfaces to receive thi;A vblow oit the die-actuating instrumenta ity. i c 'f 8. A.' cutting die comprising a bodyA ot' thin metal bent vt0 cause one of its Walls to coniornito the contour of the pattern to be cut, having an `integral rib extending longi `tudinallyof said body and projecting substantially perpendicularly from the face of the contoured Walland recessed at the bent portions of said body to prevent. lateral or torsional st-rains upon said body, means for securing the .ends of the body together, a thin flexible cutting blade 'fitti-ngsaid contoured `Wall presenting a cutting edgevprojecting 4beyond the edge vof said vvall and having its opposite edge seated upon a shoulder formed by saidrib, a" block having recesses iitting said rib overlapping the adjacent ends of said body, means securing said block to said body and clamping means lcarried by said block engaging the cutting blade.

9. .A cutting die comprising a lbody or thin metal 1bent tocause one of its walls to conform to the contour of the pattern to be cut, having` van integral rib extending longitudinally of said body and projecting substantially perpendicularly from the 'face of the 4contoured `Wallv and recessedA at the bent portions rof said body to prevent lateral'or torsional strains upon said body, means for securing the ends of the body together, a thin flexible vcutting' blade fitting said contoured Wall presenting a cutting edge projecting beyond the edge of said Wall and'l'i-aving its oppositekedge seated uponja shoulderfornied by said rib, a plura'lity of blocks 'having recesses vitting said ribs, mea-ns connecting said blocks to said body located at one side of said rib and 4clam-ping screws seated in said blocks on the other side of said rib engaging said blade.

La die-actuating instrumentality.

10. A cutting die comprising a body of thin metal bent to cause one of its Walls to conform to the contour ofthe pattern to be icut, having an integral rib extending longi- -tudinally 'of said body` and projectingsub-4 stantially perpendicularly from the face of the contoured ',Wa-ll and recessed at the bent portions ofv said body lto prevent lateral or securing thev ends of the body together, a thin fiexible cutting blade fitting said contoured Wall presenting a cutting edge pro- `jecting beyond the edge of said Wall and torsional strains uponsaid body, means for Y and adjustableiclamping means carried by said blocks'engaging said blade, certain of body and provided With bases extending in to present surfaces toreceive the vblowffrom ll. A cutting die comprising a` body of flat sheet metal leversely folded upon itself longitudinally. to presentan integral, longitudinally extending, rib projectingsubstantially perpendicularly from the plane of one of the Walls'ofv the body, said body .being bent to cause one of its Walls to conform to the contour 0f a'- diepattern and said rib being recessedI at the bent portion of said body to prevent lateral Vor torsional strains upon the body.l

l2. The process of forming the body of a cutting die'from a strip'oi 'sheet metal having a longitudinally extending ycentralrijb projecting at right angles tol theA Wall of the body, which consists in' cutting V-shaped notches from therib at predetermined intervals corresponding to curved or angular port-ions of the pattern of the die and then bending the sheet metal tocause one of its Walls to conformto the contour the. pattern. 13. 'The process civ forming the body of a cutting die from a strip'of thin sheetmetal capableof being bent at ordinary temperatures and having a" permanent set when bent and provided with an integral rib extending centrally longitudinally of one ot' its walls which consists in slittingv or; notch# ing the rib at predetermined intervals coi- ,responding` to curved or angular portions WILLIAM H. J. FITZGERALD;

'said yblocks being Asuitably spaced along said 

